Microsoft no longer thinks Linux poses a threat to its desktop Windows business.
Directions on Microsoft's Wes Miller pointed out via Twitter how Microsoft has changed the boilerplate "Competition" section in its last two annual financial filings with the SEC.

Look, frankly, I don't want to start a flamewar on this. Use what works best for you, and I use what works best for me on my side. I'm not advocating that Linux is the One True Way which everyone should follow, what I'm claiming is that *for me in particular* the Linux way works better, and that it's not as if Windows didn't have its problems.

You must remember that the post you're replying to was written in response to a post which claimed this :

Unless you're broke, or follower of some ideology, there's no real advantage to using a Linux desktop anymore.

As far as I'm concerned, every single computer OS I've tried, as of today, sucks in some way. This includes mobile operating systems. My conclusion is that what you choose as your main OS is nothing but a compromise, based on personal preferences and physiologic/mental capabilities, that attempts to minimize how much you get hurt. You are different than me, and you have unconsciously got used to a different set of problems of your operating system than me, so it's only logical that we make different choices. No need to try to prove that your choice is superior.

Case in point :

The breadcrumbs here are okay. And you have about 5 up buttons in the breadcrumb bar, I don't see why you need one.

I'm very glad for you that your brain works better than mine on this one. You see, when I use something as regularly as a file browser, I want it to feel natural, and for me natural is when I don't have to look carefully, don't have to think, and just use muscle memory.

So a big, dumb "Up" button, which is always at the same place and consistently goes up one level in my well-known folder hierarchy, is a better fit (for me !) than having to target the breadcrumb bar, attentively alter targeting because the first try wasn't precise enough, then continue to stare the breadcrumb bar as I visually analyze it, locate the end of its content, go two arrows and one variable-sized chunk of text left (while still being very careful that my mouse doesn't move out of that thin vertical area in the middle of a large heap of unused space), click, and... finally, done.

I know that some people got perfectly used to these breadcrumbs. And I'm happy for them, really. I even find them practical in some particular circumstances. Sadly, my brain is apparently not compatible with them for everyday use, so I prefer the good old "Up" button and am sad that Microsoft have hidden that functionality so deeply that you need an admin account to get it back. That's all.

It's the same as translucent windows. Some people just find them cool-looking (because, seriously, a transparent window, how cool is that ?), whereas for me it's distracting, visually indigestible stuff, which gets in my way in everyday computer usage, so the first thing I do when I set up a Windows 7 box for my use is to disable window translucency and turn them black.